Since a lot is stirring in Jerusalem, I wanted to drop a quick note to my friends to inform them of something which they may not be aware of. Please pay attention: this information will help you defeat the propaganda of Jerusalem also belonging to Muslims and Islam.

I took a tour of Israel with about 50 people from my church. As we stood on the Mount of Olives and looked at the temple mount, I was inspired to share a bit of the history with the group regarding the temple mount.

Jerusalem is the third holiest city in Islamic tradition, after Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia. Islam attaches religious significance to Jerusalem based on a tradition that could never have taken place. In other words, Islam's claim to the Temple Mount is bogus and illegitimate!

The incident under discussion is a supposed journey Muhammad took from Mecca on the back of a winged donkey named Buraq. According to tradition, Buraq flew Muhammad from Mecca to the 'further most northern mosque' which, according to tradition, is the Al Aqsa mosque which sits adjacent to the famous Dome of the Rock on the temple mount. Once there, Muhammad ascended from the temple mount to heaven, where he passed through the seven levels of heaven. At the highest level he converses with Allah, where a bargain takes place about how many daily prayers should be offered. After relentless bargaining by Muhammad, Allah finally says Muslims must pray five times a day (Allah originally required 50 daily prayer times!!) (Note: a parallel from Abraham bargaining with God about saving Sodom and Gomorrah from destruction??)

Support for this story comes from a number of Islamic sources:

Sura 17:1 in the Quran states,

Glorified (and Exalted) be He (Allah) [above all that (evil) they associate with Him]. Who took His slave (Muhammad SAW) for a journey by night from Al-Masjid-al-Haram (at Makkah) to the farthest mosque (in Jerusalem), the neighbourhood whereof We have blessed, in order that We might show him (Muhammad SAW) of Our Ayat (proofs, evidences, lessons, signs, etc.). Verily, He is the All-Hearer, the All-Seer.

The above is quoted from the Noble Qur'an, the official English version printed in Saudi Arabia by the King Fahd printing press.

In the history of Al-Tabari, a 10th century Islamic historian, we read about the night journey in volume 6, pages 78-80. The al-Aqsa is mentioned by name in Muhammad's earliest and most authoritative biography, written by Ibn Ishaq a mere 130 years after Muhammad's death. Ibn Ishaq (Life of Muhammad, pg. 181) says;

Ziyad b. 'Abdullah al-Bakka'I from Muhammad b. Ishaq told me the following: Then the apostle was carried by night from the mosque at Mecca to the Masjid al-Aqsa, which is the temple of Aelia, when Islam had spread in Mecca among the Quraysh and all the tribes.

According to what I have heard 'Abdullah b. Mas'ud used to say: Buraq, the animal whose every stride carried it as far as its eye could reach On which the prophets before him used to ride was brought to the apostle and he was mounted on it. His companion (Gabriel) went with him to see the wonders between heaven and earth, until he came to Jerusalem's temple.

Problem: Muhammad was born in 570 A.D. and died in 632. This night journey took place around 621-622 A.D., just before Muhammad migrated to Medina. But the al-Aqsa mosque was not built until 712 A.D.! Nor did the Dome of the Rock exist in Muhammad's time; it was built in 691 A.D. by Abd al-Malik.

So how could Muhammad have taken a journey to the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem if it was not yet built, and would not be built for nearly another 100 years!! Yet it is this story which forms the basis for the religious significance Muslims attach to the Temple Mount.